Morrowind – An Alternative to MGSO

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I revived one of my favorite games — Morrowind. Many people use Morrowind Graphics and Sound Overhaul to enhance the game. MGSO is easy and doesn’t require modding knowledge, but it is better to customize the game to your liking by installing only the mods you want (not to mention MGSO is highly unstable).

Introduction

About

I determined exactly what MGSO installed using information from their website, file comparison tools, and a bottle of scotch. I then got rid of many of the problem mods they included, found better alternatives, and made other improvements. This started as an ODF file, so my apologies if I didn’t fix all the formatting issues.

Legend:Not RecommendedOptionalRecommendedInstallation Notes

It is recommended you install the mods in the order listed! You can mix and match as many as you want. Click the headings to expand/collapse each section.

Disclaimer: I do not claim this information is 100% accurate! I accept no responsibility if these mods transmit CIA signals to your brain convincing you that you are a howler monkey or your cat is the reincarnation of Jesus.

Dead links warning: I have tried not to link to Morrowind Modding History when possible. Mostly because the site is not always reliable. However, since the shutdown of Gamespy/PlanetElderScrolls (where most Morrowind mods were hosted), this site is the only place to find some older mods. I can’t guarantee any links in this article will work, but ones to that site may be especially unreliable.

Who Is This For?

This is not for newbies. I assume you are running a modern PC with a decent video card, 64-bit Windows, and plenty of RAM (I’ve provided tips for those with less capable systems). Linux users should know that Wine is 32-bit so you will be unable to apply a 4GB patch, limiting the number of hi-resolution texture mods you can install without crashing the game. I have not tested the Steam version, so you will need to alter file paths if using Steam.

If you just want an updated MGSO installation, check this out. But you will see a huge improvement in quality and performance by following this guide. I have added many mods that are better than what MGSO uses and I’ve listed which ones are undesirable (see the section at the end for details). I’ve even included instructions on how to install each mod which can’t simply be installed with a mod manager.

Is This Really Better Than MGSO?

Is this worth your time? Absolutely. When I started this even I was skeptical that I would improve on MGSO, and just wanted to be able to control my mod installation. But I installed every recommended mod and many of the optional ones and not only was Morrowind far more beautiful than it was with MGSO, but I saw a doubling (or more) of framerates with zero crashes. And that is with several mods which add NPCs and animations (things which significantly hurt performance) in addition to the graphics and sounds overhauls.

This is nothing against the great work done by Ornitocopter! It is a matter of preference. Here are some reasons you may prefer this method over MGSO:

MGSO gives no control over which mods are installed (with a few exceptions).

Every time you change the options, MGSO will regenerate distant land with settings which may not be optimal.

MGSO has older versions of several mods, some of which have fairly noticeable bugs, and several of which have even been obsoleted by their authors. I will note some of these in this guide.

I am going more for which texture mods look best in-game, rather than which have the highest resolution.

My method makes many mods MGSO claims to use actually work. For example, you will have a fully-working Containers Animated mod, whereas MGSO has very few working animated containers. Ornicopter missed many conflicts when putting together their mod compilation and there are several bugs that they missed. I don’t claim to have addressed them all (who could with this many mods?), but I have provided fixes for several issues that I have not seen listed anywhere else.

If you have problems with MGSO, you can’t just uninstall. You must do a fresh Morrowind install.

Configuring MGSO can cause it to reinstall its meshes/textures, possibly overwriting other mods you use.

Most importantly, by installing mods individually with Wrye Mash, you can pick and choose what you want! This also allows you to easily uninstall and re-order individual mods if something goes wrong.

I could release my own compilation similar to MGSO, which was optimized as I describe below (provided I managed to obtain permission from all the mod authors). But that would defeat the entire purpose of modding. Compilations like MGSO force you into using the mods somebody else likes. And conflicts are resolved according to someone else’s preferences. By installing mods individually, you have full control to make the game both look amazing and perform well on your hardware. It takes time, but once you get it setup the way you like, you can always create your own mod compilation by archiving the entire "Data Files" folder and your "Morrowind.ini" configuration file.

Things to Install First

The Game

Obviously you must install Morrowind. I will assume you have both expansions (Tribunal and Bloodmoon) as well as all the official plugins. If you have the GOTY disc, GOG, or Steam version you are good.

If this is a fresh install of Morrowind, you should run the game normally at least once to generate default INI settings (we will be changing these).

Wrye Mash

Wrye Mash is a must-have. It makes installing and uninstalling mods easy. Yacoby’s version is the easiest to install/use and is recommended for all but the most advanced users.

Just extract the download to any folder you wish. I usually dump it in "[Morrowind folder]\mopy\".

Unless otherwise stated, all the mods I list here should be installed with BAIN (the Installers tab in Wrye Mash). In cases where you can’t just copy the archive and install, I have provided instructions. You will need an archive utility (7-Zip works well).

Wrye Mash contains an old version of 7-Zip which can’t open 7z files created with newer programs, but you can fix this by downloading the latest version of 7-Zip (32-bit) and copying “7z.exe” and “7z.dll” to the Wrye Mash folder. I highly recommend doing this. I also recommend using 7z archives rather than ZIP because I have noticed BAIN (at least the version packaged with Yacoby’s fork) silently skip files in some ZIP archives, with either the included 7z.exe or the latest version. But I will point out any issues with each individual mod below.

To use Wrye Mash to install mods:

Configure mods installers folder via settings (looks like a typical save icon at the bottom of the window).

Copy mod archive to that folder.

Click "Installers" tab in Wrye Mash and wait for it to initialize.

The new mod should appear last in the list; if this is not where you want it, move it to the correct position.

If there are options or plugins (ESP/ESM files), select the ones you want (I will mention these for each mod).

Right-click and "Install."

If there were plugins, enable them on the "Mods" tab after installation.

If you change load order, you can use the "Anneal" option to restore any missing files.

Fix any existing saves if you change your load order. On the "Saves" tab, select your save, then click the frame on the right and answer "Ok" when it asks if you want to fix the save, then click the "Save" button.

If you read the documentation, you may be aware Wrye Mash has a "replacers" option for installing texture replacers, but I highly recommend using BAIN instead.

MGE XE [by Hrnchamd]

Download and extract to the Morrowind folder, overwriting existing files (including the MWEdit file). I don’t care much for the optional "Sky Variations" plugin, but check the readme if you want to use it.

Don’t do anything else with this for now. We will get back to it towards the end of the guide.

NifSkope

Some of these mods have issues with meshes which can cause errors in the game. I have tried to find patches you can download and install, but in some cases the author has said nobody may use their work in future mods and they never made a patch. In these instances, I will try to provide two solutions. The first will be a simple fix (like deleting the mesh) that anyone can do. The second will be a more complete fix, but that will probably require editing the mesh. It isn’t hard to learn, and I won’t have you doing anything too crazy with it.

Master Index Journalfix [by DeusXMachina]

Assuming you have the official Master Index plugin, you should install this.

Landmass Mods

If you plan to use any landmass mods (such as Tamriel Rebuilt), you should install them before the mods below. Otherwise your new textures, meshes, etc. will likely get over-written. There may be performance issues that result if you install all the best graphics mods and TR (especially depending on your distant land generation settings).

Graphics

Texture/Mesh Fixes

These are needed for many textures to look right in-game, so install them early. Other fixes will be installed later based on required load order. The various mesh mods will override many of each other’s files; the install order I list here is highly recommended in order to provide the best possible results.

Morrowind Land Texture Fix [by LegoManIAm94]

May be a better alternative to Slartibartfast’s somewhat dated "Texture Fix" below. However, the installation is a bit cumbersome, so most people will probably skip this. Don’t use both! Read the instructions on the download page if you want to try it out.

Correct UV Mudcrabs [by tronvillain]

Move everything in the "Correct Mudcrab" folder to the root folder, then delete "Correct Mudcrab".

In each of the two sub-folders, move "meshes" from "Data Files" into it’s parent folder and delete "Data Files" (the path to each "meshes" folder from the root will be "Regular\Meshes" and "Smoothed\Meshes" respectively).

Compress everything to a new archive (I recommend 7z over Zip or Rar).

Install with Wrye Mash, selecting only the version you want.

Correct Meshes [by ZWolol]

Better Meshes Plus Optimization [by Tarius]

If installed in this order, only a handful of meshes will be used from this mod. So you could skip it if you want, or if you like this better than Slartibartfast and Armed_Defender’s work, you could install this after them.

Mesh Improvements [by Armed_Defender]

As of this writing, the version on the Nexus is 1.6, while the MediaFire version is 1.7 and the Modding History version is 1.7.1, but I am including all three locations in case the Nexus version is ever updated.

You need to fix it in order to install with Wrye Mash:

Extract archive.

Create subfolder "1 – Required".

Move "meshes" to "1 – Required".

Under "Tribunal Addon" create sub-folder "meshes".

Move "f" and "m" folders in "Tribunal Addon" to "meshes" created in last step.

Compress everything to a new archive.

Install with Wrye Mash, being sure to choose the "1 – Required" option and the other two (recommended).

Not included with MGSO. I prefer MTP + Connary’s, but Swiveller has done some good work. Worth a look.

"West Gash" has an optional replacement for "_land_default.dds" which Wrye Mash won’t install as-is, but it screws up your world map so ignore it. To make "Ashlands (Green Version)" (the only one that won’t install with WM) play nice:

Extract archive.

Move everything in the "Ashlands" folder to the root folder, then delete the now-empty "Ashlands" folder.

Solstheim Tomb of the Snow Prince [by Wollibeebee]

Formerly called "Wolli’s Solstheim Overhaul." Some textures are better than those in Bloodmoon Landscape Overhaul and some aren’t. I haven’t tested this as completely and only recently switched to it, but so far so good. This adds some content, which is one reason some may still prefer to use Slartibartfast’s mod.

The main file will install normally, but will skip the optional alternate rock textures (not needed in my opinion). After, be sure to download and install the Skaal Gate Fix.

Apel’s Asura [sic] Coast and Sheogorath Region Retexture

Bug: several dungeon doors are obscured by the new rock meshes in this mod. The author said a patch was forthcoming, but this was over two years ago and the readme precludes the distribution of patches, so you will need to fix it yourself (no need to fix if using On The Rocks Optimized for Azura’s Coast below):

Connary’s Landscapes

Many of Connary’s mods are difficult to find. This download includes all of his landscapes and more. See the link for details. If you don’t want all of that, below are the individual landscape downloads that I could find.

On the Rocks! [by Taddeus]

Minor bug: any mod that modifies rock meshes can cause placement issues, but the only bug I’ve found with this mod is in the Urshilaku Burial Caverns where the mummies which are supposed to be sitting on the rocks appear to be floating slightly above them. If you are severely anal, you could temporarily uninstall this mod while doing that part of the main quest.

The ESP is optional and just adds more rocks, so I would skip it in order to avoid possible conflicts with other mods.

On The Rocks Optimized [by SGMonkey]

I recommend installing this after the original "On the Rocks!" so you get the textures from Taddeus with the new meshes by SGMonkey. Each region is a separate download. As mentioned above, this will fix the bug with Apel’s "Asura Coast and Sheogorath Region Retexture" so you don’t need to fix it yourself.

Minor bug: whether used with Taddeus’ mod or not, you will have the same issue in the Urshilaku Burial Caverns if using the "Shores" region.

Vality’s Ascadian Isles Mod

Can use alone or with Vurt’s below. The BTB update has fixed some issues with the plugin.

Download the main file and install, but don’t install/enable the plugin if you are going to use BTB’s edited version. Then use only the Ascadian Isles ESP from BTB’s download (don’t install the Bitter Coast ESP).

Flora - Ashlands

Vurt’s Ashlands Overhaul

There are two versions to choose from; install only one. I prefer the more lore-friendly "Less Branchy" option. It doesn’t strain resources and doesn’t make me feel like I’m in some bad 70’s horror film.

Vurt’s Grazelands Trees II

Can install normally with Wrye Mash. Enabling the ESP is highly recommended but not required.

There is a minor bug! When entering the Dissapla Mine, your character will immediately become stuck on a branch which is protruding through the mine walls right inside the entrance. This occurs whether you have the ESP enabled or not. The tree exists in the vanilla game files and is only a problem because Vurt made the branches longer and thicker. So the bug is entirely incidental. You can use the console commands "fixme" or "tcl" to get your character unstuck, so it isn’t that big of a deal.

Azura’s Coast and Sheogorath – Grassmod [by Muspila]

Neither Vurt’s nor Vality’s grass mod covers this region, so this is a must-have either way.

Do not install "Grass_TR_TI&M.esp" unless you have Tamriel Rebuilt! Be sure you do install "Grass_AC&S.esp" but only enable it if you do not want animated grass in these regions (yes, that is confusing).

Vurt’s Groundcover

This may look better than Vality’s mod. The Nexus version is 2.3 while the Modding History version is 2.3a. From what I can tell only the main ESP is changed (fewer records, so I’m guessing it was cleaned).

Install the main file and all ESPs ("Reeds.esp" is optional). Do not enable the ESPs. I recommend skipping the corals file since we will be installing another mod that covers them, but if you do install it, don’t enable the ESP.

Bug: as Vurt says, it is possible for you to get floating grass when using this with mods which alter the landscape (I have not recommended any in this guide). There are instructions on fixing this if needed. Even with the vanilla game, there are a handful of misplaced clumps of grass (very few though). As I find and fix them, I will offer a BAIN-compatible patch here. It is a work-in-progress and I don’t know if it will ever be complete, but it should help reduce the few floating grass issues that Vurt missed (I’ve focused only on addressing the most noticeable issues, like a clump of grass I found floating 15 feet in the air).

Graphic Herbalism – Ownership MWSE Add-on [by Skrawafunda]

Addresses the issue with Graphic Herbalism where harvesting owned plants doesn’t count as a crime. As of this writing, there is a conflict between this and his GH Expanded Sounds compatibility patch (in the "Sounds" section). It is possible to merge the two patches if you want. But you will have to know how to edit and compile scripts in TES plugins. What does it hurt to skip this? Nothing really. It is just that you can pick berries and such off of plants in shops without consequence. Which is the same as if you were using MGSO anyway.

If using Graphic Herbalism and Pearls Enhanced, you need this. Note the incorrectly named "GHE PE Patch.ESP.ESP" which you can rename in the archive safely without screwing up anything, or just leave it (either way may result in a conflict message in mlox later that you can ignore).

Comberry Bush and Ingredient Replacer [by Pherim]

Can be installed normally, but the option names aren’t very clear. You must select "Data Files" (the main package). Select "Extras" for Graphical Herbalism support. Select "Vanilla style" for a more original look.

Bloatspore Retexture [by Lougian]

There are three versions to choose from. They all contain an extra sub-folder, so you need to extract, copy the contents of "Data Files" to its parent folder and compress again before installing. You can combine all three options into a single archive this way and then use Wrye Mash to choose the one you want.

Cave Texture Fix [by Slartibartfast]

If you are happy with the above cave mods, you don’t need this. But if you want to install it alongside them, it should be installed at this point. Despite the name, this only replaces meshes, not textures. I didn’t see a major improvement over "Caverns Bump Mapped" plus "Diverse Ore Veins."

To be able to install the included "Diverse Ore" compatibility patch (if needed) with Wrye Mash:

Extract archive.

Create subfolder "1 – Required".

Move "Meshes" to "1 – Required".

Compress everything to a new Zip/7z/Rar archive as you prefer.

Install with Wrye Mash, being sure to choose the "1 – Required" option and the compatibility patch if needed.

Statues and Shrines

Daedric Statue Replacer Pack [by Astion]

If you install you will be unable to override with other Daedric statues mods (Azura, Boethia, Malacath, Mehrunes Dagon, Molag Bal, and Sheogorath) normally, but I will cover compatibility with the mods below.

Extract archive.

Drill down to the "Data Files" folder.

Compress everything in "Data Files" to a new archive and install/enable desired ESP.

Imperial Housing Retextured [by AnOldFriend]

I find it comparable or slightly superior to Connary’s. So up to you if you want it.

The download as-is can’t be installed with Wrye Mash. To make it so you will need to unpack the archive, drop all the DDS files into a new sub-folder named "textures" and then compress it all to a new archive.

Shacks and Docks Retextured [by AnOldFriend]

The download as-is can’t be installed with Wrye Mash. To make it so you will need to unpack the archive, drop all the DDS files into a new sub-folder named "textures" and then compress it all to a new archive.

Vivec and Velothi Retexture [by Mikeandike]

A more modern look for Vivec, if you want a change from Connary’s textures. If you prefer the windows retextures from this mod, you should install it after the windows mods in the next section rather than here.

The Lighting Mod [by Sensei]

This seems a bit brighter than the others, but I like it better overall. If using with neither of the above, download the complete version. You will want the modular version also (for one ESP, as mentioned below).

Can be installed normally (don’t forget to enable the ESPs), but it has recommended INI edits. TLM contains MIT files to make this easy, so:

In Wrye Mash, on the "Mods" tab, right-click the "File" heading and select "INI Tweaks…"

It should default to "[Morrowind folder]\Data Files\Mits\" so browse to the parent folder "[Morrowind folder]\Data Files\"

Select the "TLM – Outdoor Settings" file from the list and open it.

If you wish to undo the lighting changes and return to vanilla lighting, just apply the included UNDO file.

Highly recommended: you should also install/enable "TLM – Ambient Light + Fog Update.esp" from the modular version (useful for solving ambient lighting issues; mlox will take care of this later), but nothing else from it. You could integrate this into the complete archive.

True Lights and Darkness + The Lighting Mod

You may want to combine the lighting from True Lights with some of the best features of TLM. Thankfully TLM makes this easy for us with its modular version. So use the links above to get both.

Install "True Lights and Darkness" normally as per instructions above.

Install "The Lighting Mod" (modular version) but only select certain ESPs as desired:

Candle Resource [by evercharmer]

Replaces candle meshes so you have more wax colors. It is unique, but I choose to skip it for three reasons. 1) few different colors of candles were common before the 20th century, so having this many different wax colors in-game seems a bit out of place to me (even though the textures exist in the vanilla game). 2) it uses a plugin, and the fewer texture replacers that use plugins the better. 3) the meshes aren’t really that much of an improvement over the vanilla candles (all this really does is give a few more wax colors for common candles than exist in the vanilla game).

Hi-res Skies and Weathers [by Vurt]

Even if you choose not to install this, you should still apply the INI settings for use with Skies IV. Though designed for Skies 3, it seems to work with Skies IV. Up to you if you prefer this over the textures included in Skies IV. This arguably makes storms more realistic than the default textures Skies uses.

New Starfields [by Melchior Dahrk]

If you want yet another option for night skies, this one is very nice and gives you many options. See the screenshots in the archive to choose what you like.

To make installable with Wrye Mash, you will need to extract and move each DDS into an option folder with the file renamed as "tx_stars.dds". Example 1: "Version 0\textures\tx_stars.dds". Example 2: "Version 1\textures\tx_stars.dds". Whatever you do, you should not install version 5! I don’t care how powerful a PC you have. Unless you have been very choosy in your mods, that texture is far too large and will almost certainly cause FPS reduction.

Containers

Morrowind Containers Animated [by qqqbbb]

Conflict warning! Because this mod alters the containers used by official plugins "Adamantium Armor" and "LeFemm Armor," you may not be able to purchase that armor depending on your load order. When I tested it, mlox placed "Adamantium Armor" first, rendering the plugin useless. You can find patches for this here: http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43880/

Can be installed normally, though the contents of the extra folder will be skipped (unimportant). Enable the plugin.

Apel’s Various Things – Sacks

Be sure to download the corresponding "Animated Containers Fix" if you have Containers Animated installed. There is currently a bug with the animated versions which will cause errors in Morrowind. If you are uncomfortable using NifSkope, you should skip the Animated patches and just leave the containers inanimate. But the fix is easy:

Banners and Signs

Signs-Banners Tweak [by ddfields]

This fixes something that always annoyed me in Morrowind — reversed wooden signs. But the author took things a step further and also made cloth/woven banners not have a reverse image (which they should have in my opinion). So if you install as-is, it will fix wooden signs, but woven banners will look odd. You can change it to only effect wooden signs if this bothers you.

Be sure you downloaded the latest version (currently listed as an optional download).

Extract archive.

Optional: if you’re like me and don’t like the changes done to the banner/flag meshes, search all the sub-folders for any files with "ban" or "flag" in their name (easily done with a good file manager like FreeCommander) and delete them; you will end up with only a few meshes, but they are the wooden signs.

Optional: after the above you can delete the empty folders if you want.

In each sub-folder create a folder named "meshes" and drop everything in there.

Compress to a new archive and install normally with Wrye Mash.

Better Banner Signs and Signposts [by Arukinn]

Regardless of installation order, this will override many other sign/banner textures due to the ESP. If you don’t like how this looks, you can safely skip it (be sure to read the notes on the other sign/banner mods below).

Enable ESP.

Apel’s Various Things – Signs

If you installed Arukinn’s mod above, this texture will not be used. I found this tavern sign more lore-friendly, so I created a patch to install after this which replaces the mesh from "Better Banner Signs:"

In an empty folder, create the following folder path: "meshes\sbsp\s\"

In that folder copy the file "meshes\x\furn_sign_inn_01.nif" from Apel’s and rename it to "rf_sign_inn_01.nif"

Compress this new "meshes" folder into an archive with a name like "Apel’s Better Banner Signs Patch.7z"

Verify in Wrye Mash "Conflicts" tab that this will overwrite the mesh from Arukinn’s and install after both.

Even if you uninstall Better Banner Signs, this patch won’t hurt anything.

Signy Signposts [by Earth Wyrm]

This is a beautiful mod, but is it lore-friendly? The Dunmer use Daedric letters and this is English. If you stick with the signs installed by Better Banner Signs, you will have road signs in Daedric text. So choose which you prefer.

Enable the ESP and load it after "aru_signs_en.esp" (if installed). Or create a custom mlox rule (explained later).

Mixed Signposts [by Drako Thuban]

This is the only signpost mod I’ve seen that includes both Imperial (English) and Daedric text. Which is how I would imagine road signs in Vvardenfell would look as it is an Imperial territory but the local Dunmer population uses the Daedric alphabet. Is it perfect? No. The text is almost too crisp and looks raised, like it is decals on the wood, which is a bit out of place (I would prefer something that looks more like it was painted onto the wood). So it is really just a matter of personal taste.

Enable the ESP and load it after "aru_signs_en.esp" (if installed). Or create a custom mlox rule (explained later).

Art and Lanterns

Taps and Rugs [by Nangsid]

The mods I’ve listed replace virtually all of these textures with better ones. I could only find one Ashlander banner and one tapestry that this mod improves upon and I’m not even sure they are in-game.

Dunmer Lanterns Replacer [by Melchior Dahrk]

Install the main file normally. Don’t worry that you will miss the alternate textures as the mod author says these aren’t recommended. Afterward you can (optionally) install one of the retexture mods listed under "Optional Files" (don’t bother if you are happy with Bloodinfested’s textures from the previous mod).

Books

Book Rotate [by Cydine & Maboroshi Daikon]

Not graphics or sound related, but if you want to rotate books for easy placement, this is a must-have, and it should be installed at this point. See the readme for details, but if you are only installing the mods I’ve listed here you shouldn’t need to do anything special.

Enable the ESM and (assuming you have both expansions) install/enable the Tribunal and Bloodmoon ESPs. Only enable the Morrowind ESP if you do not have either expansion installed.

Book Jackets — Morrowind [by Daleth]

There are three parts to the download, so get them all. I recommend extracting them all and combining them into a single archive before installing via Wrye Mash. Be sure to only install/enable the correct ESP, depending on whether you installed Book Rotate.

Dwemer Books [by Misty Moon]

Bug: there are a few placement issues with this. Hopefully the Book Rotate Compatible version will be back up and complete someday, but until then, you probably shouldn’t use this and instead just stick with Book Rotate although it may seem odd that Dwemer books look the same as those from the modern races.

The first version is not official, but the original will conflict with Book Rotate. Only install/enable the TR ESP (assuming you have Tribunal).

Dwemer Plans and Schematics [by The Iron Chicken]

Consumables, Alchemy, Soulgems, etc.

Muffin Re-fix [by samurai]

This doesn’t appear to hurt anything, but I feel it is unnecessary. There is only one muffin in the game and why add a plugin just so that it basically has a unique icon in the inventory? (It does a little more than that, but that’s the only reason the plugin is needed.)

Moon Sugar Replacer [by Petethegoat]

Qarl’s Misc Item Replacer

Qarl/Steve was one of the greatest Morrowind modders ever. Unfortunately he passed away in 2013 and is greatly missed. Since this was before the PES shutdown, most of his mods never made it to the Nexus. Some of his miscellaneous items are included with Connary’s Textures (or vice versa) so don’t worry about conflicts between the two. If you don’t want all of these items and/or if the above link stops working, you can download parts of this pack individually below (otherwise skip the next two mods).

Repair Tools [by The Iron Chicken]

If you want a replacer for repair hammers and prongs, you could use this instead of SirLuthor’s because it won’t conflict with Better Picks. However, this also uses an ESP unnecessarily for the texture replacement, meaning any mods you install which alter repair tools in any way (such as changing the number of uses) will conflict with this, so be sure they load after. Keep in mind these textures have already been replaced by other mods like MTP, so you may not need this.

Extract archive.

Open "Data Files" and move all its contents to the parent folder.

Compress everything to a new archive.

Install with Wrye Mash, being sure to enable "Repair Tools.esp" if you just want the retextures or "Rare Repairs.esp" if you want the retextures and new tools.

Sail Cloth Retexture [by Alaisiagae]

Choose between the normal and tribal versions. I would skip the optional mesh and stick with what has already been installed (although it fixes the clipping issue, it doesn’t look right for the sail to be that short to me).

Effects

Better Spell Effects [by F.I.M.]

Spell Effects [by Masoxx]

You could use this as an alternative to F.I.M.’s mod above. There are pros and cons of each. This one is more subdued, so if you are annoyed by the somewhat gaudy effects of Better Spell Effects, use this instead.

Bloodmoon Hide Replacer [by Aeven]

I used this with Slartibartfast’s Bloodmoon Landscape Overhaul, but since switching to Wollibeebee’s Solstheim Tomb of the Snow Prince (both in the Landscapes section above), I’m not sure this makes any difference. Shouldn’t hurt to install either way.

Bloodmoon Pelt Replacer [by Alaisiagae]

I used this with Slartibartfast’s Bloodmoon Landscape Overhaul, but since switching to Wollibeebee’s Solstheim Tomb of the Snow Prince (both in the Landscapes section above), I’m not sure this makes any difference. Shouldn’t hurt to install either way.

Redware & Misc. Retexture [by Faylynn]

This one is of a higher quality than the previous mod, but I still skip it because Connary’s textures are good enough for redware bowls and I also use a better candle replacer as mentioned earlier. If you really want it, install it before the candle textures mentioned earlier.

Fit Body Textures for Better Bodies [by Westly]

Warning: adult content! Though you can install the non-nude version if you prefer.

The archive contains a sub-folder in a sub-folder which means it won’t install with Wrye Mash as-is. Just re-compress to get rid of the extra parent folder. Then install "Hands" plus one "Female" and one "Male" option.

Warning: adult content! Though you can install the non-nude version if you prefer. An even higher resolution body replacer (though only for females). If you want it, install it after the one above.

The archive contains a sub-folder in a sub-folder which means it won’t install with Wrye Mash as-is. Just re-compress to get rid of the extra parent folder. Then install "Hands" plus one of the other options as desired.

Better Heads [by Gorg and Arathrax]

Up to you if you want this head replacer. Some people still recommend it, but overall I’ve found the textures from MTP and Better Bodies to be superior. If you do use it, you should probably skip all other head replacers (except as mentioned below) since it will probably render them useless anyway.

Extract archive.

Create folder "1 – Required".

Move the ESMs, "Meshes," and "Textures" to that new folder.

Move everything from "Better_Heads_Extras" to the root folder.

In "Alt Vampire textures" and "misc textures" create a sub-folder "textures" and dump all DDS and TGA files into it.

"modular_race_packs" is probably unneeded, so you can delete it if you want or keep it in case you wish to use it later.

Compress everything to a new archive.

Install with Wrye Mash, being sure you select the required option, and the vampire one (if desired), and the miscellaneous textures (probably not desired).

Be sure to enable all three ESMs; if for some reason you are also using another head replacer (unlikely), you may want to install the ESPs and enable them.

Slof’s Vampire Faces

An oldie, but still a nice vampire face mod. If you want vampires to be "pretty," (without sparkles thank goodness) you will want this. As of now, the only place to find it appears to be Wolflore via the link on the page above. Note that this is an adult site and will require registration, even though this mod is just faces and doesn’t contain adult content. Although the textures are included with Vvardenfell Visages below, you still need this for the ESP.

Enable the ESP.

Other Head Replacers

I should mention that there are many many other head replacers out there. Some are of a higher quality than the ones I mention here. Why don’t I recommend them? Because neck seams drive me crazy. I would rather have bodies and heads that are well-matched than a high-resolution head that doesn’t match the body. You can always check out the Nexus and search for head packs. Emma’s packs are especially nice.

Slof’s Better Beasts

Warning: adult content! Don’t download if you are underage or an easily-offended virgin. I added this because it complements Slof’s Vampire Faces in that it adds beast vampire retextures; something few (if any) other mods do. Same warning about Wolflore applies.

You will want the main file, the arm fix, and possibly the texture seam fix. I haven’t tested the "civilized" version, so I can’t give hints on that.

Install the main file, enabling one of the following ESPs (per the readme):

New Beast Bodies [by LizTail]

Warning: adult content! Only download the mature version if you are of age and not easily offended. Otherwise, choose the clean one. This is what MGSO uses for argonians and khajiit, and the textures are of a higher resolution overall than Slof’s. But LizTail didn’t include vampire textures. So if you want, you can install this after Slof’s, thus using Slof’s beast vampire textures and LizTail’s for all other beasts (though this will likely lead to inconsistencies between beast bodies and beast vampire heads, which is why I stick with Slof’s).

Enable both ESPs (assuming you want the texture replacements for both races).

Vvardenfell Visages [by Telesphoros]

Compatible with Better Heads. I recommend skipping this since the same or better textures have been installed already if you’ve followed this guide. But if you want it, this is where it should be installed.

Extract archive and open "Data Files".

Create folder "1 – Required" and move "Meshes" and "Textures" there.

Compress everything in "Data Files" to a new archive.

Install with Wrye Mash, being sure to choose the required option and other options if you have those mods installed (BH stands for Better Heads).

Morrowind Comes Alive [by Neoptolemus]

MCA can have an impact on FPS. But it does what its name implies… Vvardenfell feels more alive with this installed.

As of the version just released (8.2), the optional plugins are in a subdirectory in the archive. To install with Wrye Mash, you will need to move each of these into optional folders or just repackage it like they did with the old versions, where all plugins are in the base folder (move everything from "MCA Addons" to its parent folder, but be sure you only enable the plugins you need). The readme has details on what each plugin does. For the purposes of this guide, you would only need to enable the main ESM and Westly’s FCOT ESP. If using Liztail’s Animation Kit (in the next section), run it, and "Fix Animation Errors" before running the game once (start new game) to make sure you get no errors.

When you start/load a game with MCA, you will get a one-time configuration menu. Choose your options carefully. If you don’t like the settings you chose, do the following:

Open the Morrowind console (usually with the backtick key).

Type "set MCA_Loaded to 0" into the console, then <Enter>, and close the console.

Save game.

Load the save.

Children of Morrowind [by Emma]

As with MCA, this can impact FPS, but without children, how can the population be sustainable? The download links on the webpage are all the way at the bottom. Don’t miss the fixes. Most of the other mods listed on the page are unnecessary unless you want to play as a child or have a family, but I’ve never used them.

The main download has two levels of extra sub-folders so it will need to be repackaged (I integrate both the listed fixes into it at the same time) before installing normally. If using Liztail’s Animation Kit (in the next section), run it, and "Fix Animation Errors" before running the game once (start new game) to make sure you get no errors.

Balmora Trader [by trebor44]

The barter system in Morrowind is a mess and horribly unbalanced. Late in the game you will have more gold than you could ever spend. But for low and mid-level characters trying to get rich, high-level loot isn’t easy to sell. Even the best merchants don’t have much gold. You can use one of these methods to overcome this, but all take time or feel like cheats. You could use a mod which adds more gold to existing merchants, but it will conflict with other mods (unless it uses MWSE scripts, but the only ones I’ve seen don’t add that much gold). This simple mod provides a balanced solution which doesn’t feel like cheating (as the creature merchant method does). My only complaint is that the trader should be a higher level, with better stats and equipment; after all, he is the best Merchant in Vvardenfell.

The archive has two levels of extra sub-folders so it will need to be repackaged before installing normally. Enable the ESP after installation.

Animation

Liztail’s Animation Kit

This utility is needed for some animation mods to work properly. If you only want the "Animated Morrowind" mods below, you can skip this. But if you want to mix multiple animation mods, this is required.

Comes with its own installer. It needs to be installed to its own folder. Not a folder under Morrowind! After installing, run the program to initialize it, then exit it before starting it up again to make changes.

This can be buggy, so if you install it, follow the instructions in this guide carefully. If it starts generating errors that the "Fix Animation Errors" option doesn’t solve, completely delete the "[Morrowind folder]\Data Files\Animation\" folder and re-run the animation kit (maybe even delete everything in "meshes" and its subfolders containing "anim" in the name) before reinstalling all animation mods. After installing and enabling the included animations (if desired), run Morrowind and start a new game to make sure you don’t get any errors (which will appear immediately, likely halting/crashing the game if something went wrong).

Animation Pack [by Dirnae & thuggqwerty]

Cannot be installed with Wrye Mash. You need to extract the contents into "[Morrowind Folder]\Data Files\Animation\". Then run Liztail’s utility, "Apply Anim Mods," "Fix Animation Errors," and run the game once (start new game) to make sure you get no errors.

Beast Animations [by Dirnae]

Can be installed with Wrye Mash as-is and may work, provided you are using no other beast animation mods, but would probably conflict with Animated Morrowind so I would use Liztail’s method. Open the archive and extract the contents of "Anim_Mod_Version\Animation\" to "[Morrowind Folder]\Data Files\Animation\". Then run Liztail’s utility, "Apply Anim Mods," "Fix Animation Errors," and run the game once (start new game) to make sure you get no errors.

Animated Morrowind – merged [by Abot]

Use this in place of the Animated Morrowind mods below! It is only available via this AlterVista site, so I am including the individual downloads as an alternative. This can cause a serious FPS hit on some systems. If you have issues, uninstall everything AM-related.

Enable the ESP. After install, if using Liztail’s Animation Kit, run it, and "Fix Animation Errors" before running the game once (start new game) to make sure you get no errors.

Clothing

Better Clothes [by Psychodog Studios]

Download the "Non Installer" version only and install normally with Wrye Mash. Be sure to install/enable your desired ESP (the "NAC" version is recommended since we will be using a beast replacer plus MCP to fix argonian clothing).

Daedric Weapon Enhancer [by GhostNull]

Slightly better than Darknut’s Daedric weapons. Textures are smoother and generally darker. If you don’t like that look, you can skip this. The reflective version looks very nice at a small performance hit.

HiRez Armors — Native Styles [by Saint_Jiub]

Bug: the description says this mod is incomplete and it is. Specifically, several textures appear to be missing for the ebony armor set, though these could simply be misnamed since similar textures are included. To fix:

Easy way: delete all meshes with the word "ebony" in them from "meshes\a\" in the archive.

Hard way:

Open every ebony armor mesh in NifSkope and change every texture as follows:

Darksun Shield Replacer [by Rattfink333]

Various Little Mods [by Lougian]

This isn’t just armor, but Lougian’s mods are so good let’s install them all. Several contain 1K and 2K versions, so you will need to repackage them before installing with Wrye Mash (you know how to do this by now).

Only the Vivec one is recommended since it uses cut sounds from the original game (the Dagoth Ur one isn’t bad either, but it will conflict with Divine Dagoth Ur, so you should probably load it first if desired). I list these as optional because I found most of them annoying. Voiced dialogue is awesome, but Morrowind is an old game and I don’t expect everything to be voiced. I didn’t care for the quality and/or volume on the first two and I couldn’t locate another. Still, some people may like them, so install them here.

Sleepers Awake

Another optional voice mod I prefer not to use. Though the work is impressive, it breaks immersion for me. I would rather just have text for the 6th House dreams. But if you aren’t as picky as I am, you may like this.

Expanded Sounds [by Piratelord]

I think of it as ASE done right (no annoying tavern music). Might work with Better Sounds?

Minor conflict: any mod which modifies the same items will conflict. Typically mlox will place Expanded Sounds earlier in the load order, so all that will happen is you lose these extra sounds. You can find patches for some of the mods I’ve recommended here: http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43880/.

This may be the worst-packaged Morrowind mod I’ve ever seen. Here’s what you need to do to install:

Papill6n Various Graphics Things

I put this here in case you want the alternate Dark UI menu it contains.

Installation: 3 of the mods are in a sub-folder called "Tribunal required" within the archive. Wrye Mash will not recognize these unless they are moved up to the root of the archive. Repackage, then pick the options you want. Check the readme for full details, but I would install all packages except the following:

Register BSAs

BSAReg

The regular version should work for most, but sometimes it won’t due to problems with UAC or invalid/missing registry entries. I’ve never had to use the other one (I install games outside of %programfiles% to avoid such issues), so read the PDF for details.

Extract the executable to the Morrowind folder.

Usage: run BSAReg.exe. It will automatically detect any unregistered BSAs. All you have to do is click the update button. If something goes wrong, you may need to right-click the EXE and "Run as Administrator."

Order Plugins

mlox

There is a Python and a standalone version. Download the standalone version and extract it to "[Morrowind folder]\mlox\". If using the standalone version of Wrye Mash, you must copy the contents of "For users of Wrye Mash Standalone" to its parent folder.

You may want to create a custom "mlox_user.txt" in the mlox folder. By default there are no rules for ordering the various sign mods I’ve mentioned and I also have recommended some newer patches and such that aren’t in the mlox rules at this time. Here are the current contents of my custom ruleset:

Either launch mlox in Wrye Mash by right-clicking the "File" column heading on the "Mods" tab, or just run mlox (if not launched via Wrye Mash, be sure Wrye Mash is not running!). You will get a window full of messages regarding your plugins. If you have followed this guide, most likely none of them are a serious issue. Some of the messages may even be in error — for example, in my load order I saw notices about Graphic Herbalism Extra because mlox didn’t recognize that I was using "Graphic Herbalism Extra (UV Corrected).esp" rather than "Graphic Herbalism Extra.esp". Still, you should read through the messages in case there are some conflicts I didn’t anticipate. Assuming it didn’t find any serious issues, click "Update Load Order," and then "Quit" which most of the time will order your plugins in an ideal manner.

Once complete, the originals of any modified plugins will be backed up into the backup folder you created. You can open clean.txt to see details on everything it did if you want, but I’ve never seen this method break anything. Those uncomfortable with using the command line can launch tes3cmd from within Wrye Mash (if using Yacoby’s version), but I’m unclear which options this uses.

Assuming everything went well, you should end up with a new plugin named "multipatch.esp" which should come last in your load order. Verify this in Wrye Mash (opening Wrye Mash is important at this point anyway to reset the dates on the plugins). If you change your load order in any way, you should delete this plugin and run tes3cmd again.

Any plugins which have now been modified will not be removed by Wrye Mash if you uninstall the related mod on the "Installers" tab since the sizes no longer match. So, you need to pay attention when uninstalling mods.

Merge Leveled Lists

This should not be required if you ran tes3cmd as recommended in the previous step. The patch it created should already contain merged leveled lists. But if you skipped that step or used the clean option rather than fixit, you need to do this.

Although most of the mods here do not edit leveled lists, there are a few, and you may have others that do.

In Wrye Mash, move "Mashed Lists.esp" to the absolute bottom of the load order

Right-click the file in Wrye Mash and select "Import->Merged Lists"

Be sure to enable "Mashed Lists.esp"

MGE XE

You did install MGE XE at the start right? If not, do so now (but don’t overwrite existing meshes).

First, you need to run "Morrowind Launcher.exe" and use "Options" to set the game resolution (800×600 is fine).

If MGE XE needs to run as administrator (it will if Morrowind is installed to %programfiles% and may even if not), make sure you also run the launcher as Administrator this one time.

After exiting the launcher, run "MGEXEgui.exe".

From here on, follow the instructions on the "Instructions" tab (read it for details).

The shaders you choose and your distant land configuration have the largest impact on performance; remember that just because you have a high-end PC does not mean you should max everything out, depending on the textures and animations you installed.

When you click "Shader setup", it will give you hints on which to use for different levels of quality and performance.

When generating distant land, click "Use current load order" plus select the grass plugins I told you not to enable.

On the second step, you will almost certainly not want the highest resolution of textures (I think anything over 2048 hurts performance at a negligible increase in quality).

The wizard will automatically try to pick an optimal detail level for meshes, but you can raise it for higher quality or lower for higher performance.

The "Statics" step is crucial. I usually lower minimum static size slightly to generate more statics, but most importantly do not use anything near 100% grass density (especially if you used the animated grass and other animation mods); even 50% will give you a decent amount of grass in most regions.

Once distant land generation is complete, you can setup other distant land settings.

MGSO sets draw distance way too far in my opinion (ruins immersion and hurts performance) and I usually use 4-5 cells.

This could just be my system but I experienced a roughly 8 FPS drop with the "Per-pixel lighting shader."

Hover the mouse cursor over the other options for hints on what they do.

As the instructions say, it is a good idea to use the "Macro editor" to assign some key on your keyboard to "Toggle shaders" in case you run into performance issues (turning shaders off with this key will quickly increase FPS).

Nothing else in MGE XE is really required, but play with the options as you wish.

WARNING! Spoiler below.

At one point in the main quest the Ghostfence will disappear. Whether you used my recommended Ghostfence texture replacers or stuck to vanilla, this will cause an annoying visual inconsistency with the distant land generated by MGE. You will still see the Ghostfence in distant land and suddenly it disappears when you get close to it. I usually just ignore this and tell myself it is a magical illusion or something. If you are a purist, you could re-generate distant land once you reach this point, but you will need a plugin so that the Ghostfence textures are skipped (just install the plugin and use it for DL; don’t enable it). Download it here: http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/37821/

Patch Morrowind.exe

Morrowind Code Patch

Run "Morrowind Code Patch.exe" and select your desired options. Aside from the defaults, the only option I’m aware of that is required for the above mods (though you may want/need others; be sure you have read all readmes and check the descriptions for each option in MCP) is "Argonian clothing choice." Some of the "Mod related features" may actually cause errors if you enable them when your mods don’t require it. For example, "Improved animation support" has been reported to cause errors with Liztail’s Animation Kit; though I can’t verify this. If something goes wrong, a backup of the executable is made named "Morrowind.Original.exe".

Optimize Morrowind.exe

EXE Optimizer

This doesn’t seem to make any noticeable performance difference, but supposedly it helps reduce crashes. Personally I’ve never seen any difference at all, so up to you if you want to do this.

Extract archive to the Morrowind folder.

Be sure you disable your antivirus software temporarily before running this! Run exeOpt.exe (no need to change the defaults unless you know what you’re doing). You may need to "Find Morrowind manually" if it doesn’t detect the location automatically. Then just "Patch Morrowind." If something goes wrong or the game is less stable after doing this, you can find a backup of the executable named "Morrowind.exe.fpu2ssebak".

Apply 4GB Patch

4GB Patch

You will want this if installing a lot of hi-rez textures (which is the whole point of this guide). You must be running a 64-bit version of Windows with at least 4GB RAM. (You can unlock more RAM for 32-bit versions of Windows as well, but it isn’t recommended and instability may result.)

Extract the executable to your base Morrowind folder. Then run it and patch Morrowind.exe. A backup of the original will be created named Morrowind.exe.backup.

Run Morrowind

MWSE

Can be installed to a sub-folder under your Morrowind folder, but don’t install directly to the Morrowind folder itself because it will overwrite MWSE files included with MGE XE with newer versions (which doesn’t seem to hurt anything in my testing, but better safe than sorry).

You may or may not need MWSE depending on what mods you’ve installed. Assuming it is needed, you should always start Morrowind with MWSE rather than the normal shortcut. You can create a shortcut directly to MWSE.

Improving Performance

If you installed all the recommended mods, you will definitely see a noticeable framerate drop. Doesn’t matter how high-end a system you have. A quick and easy way to test whether this is acceptable or not is to start a new game and take the silt strider to Balmora. If running around the streets of Balmora yields acceptable FPS, then you can probably play the game as-is. If not, here are a few tips.

The biggest cause of performance issues in Morrowind seems to be animations. That’s why I recommended not using 100% for grass in distant land generation. Even 50% looks nice using the grass mods I recommended. You may even consider disabling grass animation altogether (read the descriptions of the grass mods on how to do this).

Re-generating distant land in general and trying different settings can make a noticeable difference.

Mods which add NPCs like Morrowind Comes Alive and Children of Morrowind will have a large impact on performance. I hate to give them up because they really make the game feel like you aren’t in a sparse post-apocalyptic wasteland. But if the above two tips don’t help and you aren’t willing to give up visual quality, it may be necessary to uninstall one or more of these.

If you have done all of that and are still not happy with performance, you will have to start trying things like lowering the draw distance for distant land, disabling distant land altogether (not recommended), using different shaders, and finally replacing some of the high resolution textures with lower ones.

OpenMW and Morroblivion

Some people may wonder why I have only covered modding the original Morrowind game rather than mentioning OpenMW or Morroblivion from the start. First, let me explain what these projects are, for those who are unaware. OpenMW is a new open-source game engine designed for playing Morrowind on modern computers. Morroblivion is a mod for playing Morrowind with the Oblivion game engine. Basically, both projects are attempts to provide a more up-to-date engine for playing Morrowind (whose game engine was buggy even when it was released). Both have been in development for a long time and both have excellent potential, but I still prefer to mod the original game instead as of this writing.

I have very very high hopes for OpenMW. If/when it is finished, it will certainly breathe new life into this classic game. What makes it great is that it is not a mod (like Morroblivion), but simply a replacement for the game engine. That means MGE won’t work with it, but it also means such hacks are unneeded. Unfortunately, it is still very much in development and you may experience crashes depending on which mods you use. Most importantly, you cannot use any mods which require the Morrowind Script Extender. If you can stick to mods which don’t use MWSE, though, you can mod your game just like normal and use this updated engine which will almost certainly run better on modern hardware. It is certainly worth a try, and if it runs smoothly on your PC, it will feel like you’re playing a whole new game (of course, you won’t be able to use your old saves since it is a whole new engine). 90% of Morrowind mods should work with OpenMW in theory… or they will when it gets closer to completion.

Morroblivion is a project I’ve followed since long before the first public release. My issue with it then is the same as now. Because it imports Morrowind assets into Oblivion, that means you can’t use any Morrowind mods whatsoever. Only mods specifically designed for Morroblivion will work. And modding is the best part of TES games.

Ashland Ground [by Wollibeebee]

Download: N/A

I can’t find a working link. There are (possibly better) Ashlands mods listed here anyway.

Atmospheric Sound Effects [by Duncan]

Download: N/A

There are newer sound mods available. The tavern music was especially annoying (it was the first thing about MGSO that irritated me in fact). Even if you find a working link, I recommend not installing it.

Better Gems [by Silver_fox_rival & Tronvillain]

Download: N/A

Another mod that seems to have been lost forever due to the PES shutdown. There are other soulgem mods out there, so don’t worry about it.

Better Item Suit [sic] [by HedgeHog-12]

It changes far too many items and relies on an ESP. In other words, it will almost certainly override many of your other texture replacers (often with inferior versions). In short it can screw up too many things and it doesn’t even offer the best texture replacements.

Better Rain [by EJ-12]

Download: N/A

I find no reference to a Morrowind mod by this name. There are other rain mods anyway.

Book Jackets Patch [by Daleth]

Download: N/A

For the life of me I have no idea what this is in the list of MGSO mods. I don’t see where Daleth ever released a "patch" for Book Jackets. Only compatibility patches for other mods.

Bowl Items [by Qarl]

Download: N/A

I couldn’t find this, but it should be included in his "Misc Items" mod.